Ranking the all-time best in anything is a challenging task, but football is tougher than most.

The game has changed so dramatically that it makes it extremely difficult to compare teams from different eras. But we did it anyway.

Here then is our view of the top 32 high school football teams in Illinois history.

Why 32? Originally we were aiming for Top 25. But there are simply too many great teams.

So since the state's playoffs are divided into eight classes, with 32 teams competing in each division, we expanded the list. Think of this as the Terrific 32 all-time playoff bracket. Honorable mentions are below.

Here are a few things to share about our selection process before you dive in:

1. Each era is represented as fairly as possible. We have two teams from the 2010s, five from the 2000s, five from the 1990s, five from the 1980s, seven from the 1970s, three from the 1960s, two from the '50s, and one each from the '40s, '30s and 1910s. (Sorry, Roaring Twenties.)

2. Dynasties get represented once. East St. Louis' 1985 champs probably would win a poll as the state's greatest team. The Flyers from the year before might finish second, and the team before that might rank third. Likewise, Providence uses all its fingers to count its state championships — and Joliet Catholic and Mount Carmel have to use some of their toes. Those four programs probably deserve to have more than their nine combined entries here, but a list of 32 teams that includes 20 or so from the same four schools isn't quite in the spirit of this type of projects. So dynasties like the four-peats from Joliet Catholic (1975-78), Mount Carmel (1988-91) and Providence (1994-97) get one team on the list — as do repeat powerhouses such as Maine South 2008-09 and Richards 1988-89.

3. Class matters. The list is dominated by teams that currently play in Class 7A and 8A and those that competed in 5A and 6A before 2001's class expansion. Fans of small- and medium-sized schools — especially Bishop McNamara, Driscoll, Montini, Geneseo, Metamora, Rochester and Phillips' historic 2015 squad — have a right to be upset at their teams' absence here, but their best squads just did not play the level of competition that make comparisons to the teams represented here possible.

Similarly, a recent run of dominant Class 6A champions from Prairie Ridge, Nazareth, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and Cary-Grove were too hard to differentiate from each other to include one over the others.

One exception: The Pittsfield team from 1970 defeated its opponents 341-0. If a team pitches a shutout for an entire season in the middle of a streak of seven straight undefeated seasons — it's in.

4. Undefeated champions only. Are there champions that lost a game or two that deserve to make the list? Probably. How about a great team that ran into another great team in a great game during the playoffs? It happens. But since so many great teams that did not lose failed to make the list, it simply doesn't seem right to include a team that did.

So, with those criteria in mind, here they are: the 32 best high school football teams in Illinois history, listed chronologically.

Why the Ramblers were great: They finally broke through for the program's first state title since 1993 after years of close calls. The Ramblers outscored their opponents 558-123, including 179-50 in the 8A playoffs and 164-42 in the tough-as-nails Catholic Blue. They displayed offensive balance with 2,802 rushing yards and 2,799 passing yards, led by QB Emmett Clifford, RB Dara Laja and All-State brothers Sam and Jack Badovinac on the line. They finished No. 15 in USA Today's national rankings.

Wheaton Warrenville South 2010

Why the Tigers were great: They proved their bona fides early with a 44-7 rout of eventual 8A champ Maine South in Week 2 and never stopped rolling. They didn't win by fewer than 20 points until the final, when they won their second straight 7A title and seventh overall. They topped 40 points 11 times and allowed seven or fewer points nine times. Future Illinois QB Reilly O'Toole passed for 3,187 yards and 42 TDs, and RB Matt Rogers rushed for 1,269 behind a line that included Kansas-bound Luke Luhrsen. They outscored their opponents 590-117, including 202-44 in the playoffs, and the finished No. 10 in USA Today's national rankings.

Maine South 2008

Why the Hawks were great: They won the first of their three straight 8A titles behind QB Charlie Goro, the Tribune's 2008 player of the year, and RB Matt Perez, who earned the honor in 2009. Goro passed for 3,171 yards with 38 TDs, and Perez rushed for 1,145 and 22. Other stars included WR/S Joey Orlando, lineman Zach Timm and LBs Corby Ryan and Nick Catino. They outscored opponents 630-170, including 195-63 in the playoffs, and finished No. 21 in USA Today's national rankings. In 2009 they ran through 8A undefeated again and finished ranked No. 5 nationally.

Lincoln-Way East 2005

Why the Griffins were great: After dominating an independent schedule of teams that went a combined 91-60, they ran through a gauntlet of top programs in the playoffs in the school's fifth year. They finished by knocking off undefeated Wheaton South in the semifinals and Maine South, which was making its third straight trip to the finals, in one of the state's best championship games ever. QB Anthony Kropp passed for 3,010 yards and 31 TDs. The defense was led by brother LBs Gus (eight sacks) and Jon (seven) Olofsson.

Carmel 2003

Why the Corsairs were great: They rushed for 4,196 yards behind "The Great Wall of Carmel," an offensive line led by Dan Osterhout (6-2, 280), Drew Cairo-Gross (6-3, 295) and Luke Krombach (6-4, 255). They outscored their opponents 600-209. They routed eventual 5A champion Joliet Catholic 41-14 in a Week 9 showdown before outscoring their 6A competition 233-85 in the playoffs. QB Mark Venegoni passed for 1,629 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 782 and 17 but missed the championship game with an injury. Carmel trailed Bloomington 26-25 late in the third quarter before Mike Serio responded with a 91-yard kickoff return that put the Corsairs up for good, and they outscored the Purple Raiders 22-0 in the fourth quarter to ice their only state title. They finished No. 7 in USA Today's national rankings.

Providence 2001

Why the Celtics were great: Routed undefeated Richards 41-0 for their seventh state title, holding the Bulldogs to 76 total yards with DB Matt Gannon nabbing three interceptions. They outscored their opponents 455-159, including 191-38 in playoffs, and went 7-0 in the Catholic Blue. RB Mike Mentz and QB Mike Budde led the offense, with LBs Rory Steinbach and Matt Eggert and DBs Mark Reiter and Gannon leading the defense. They finished No. 8 in USA Today's national rankings. The next year they were undefeated 5A champions, finishing ranked No. 16 nationally.

Joliet Catholic 2000

Why the Hilltoppers were great: The middle team of a three-peat that was led by RB J.R. Zwierzynski, one of the best Hilltoppers of all. He rushed for 539 yards and 12 TDs as a sophomore in 1999, 2,073 and 29 in 2000 and 2,340 and 37 in 2001. Chris Gruber added 1,130 rushing yards for the 2000 team, which outscored its opponents 541-202, including 201-77 in playoffs and 311-86 in the first half. They finished No. 11 in USA Today's national rankings after the 1999 team ranked No. 10.

Naperville Central 1999

Why the Redhawks were great: Senior RB Ryan Clifford had perhaps the state's best individual season ever, rushing 301 times for 2,673 yards and 44 TDs. Junior QB Owen Daniels passed for 1,477 yards and 14 TDs before going on to a productive career as an NFL tight end. The offense scored 40 or more eight times, while the defense allowed 20 or more only twice. They outscored their opponents 579-194, including 219-68 in the playoffs on the way to the first of the program's two state titles (2013). They finished No. 5 in USA Today's national rankings.

Wheaton Warrenville South 1998

Why the Tigers were great: They possessed possibly the greatest offense the state has ever seen, led by QB Jon Beutjer (Iowa, Illinois) and WRs Jon Schweighardt (Northwestern) and Eric McGoey (Illinois). Beutjer passed for a national-record 60 TDs with 3,946 yards and a 210.7 rating. Schweighardt had 94 receptions for 1,572 yards and 26 TDs, with McGoey adding 60, 1,274 and 21. LB Nick Duffy led the defense with 131 tackles for a team that outscored its opponents 615-136 (216-60 in playoffs). They finished No. 16 in USA Today's national rankings and beat the nucleus of Naperville Central's 1999 greats 56-42 in Week 6 and 40-26 in the quarterfinals.

Lincoln-Way 1997

Why the Knights were great: They showed New Lenox was more than just Providence, running up a point differential of 519-184 against a stacked schedule of 14 teams that combined to go 90-62. QB Cory Paus (UCLA) passed for 2,180 yards and 24 TDs. He also played free safety during the playoffs and had two interceptions in the semifinals and another in the final against Addison Trail while throwing four and three TDs in those games. RB Rich Shutt had 1,566 yards and 17 TDs on 161 carries, and DE Nick Bisgrove 18 sacks. They finished No. 10 in USA Today's national rankings.

Mount Carmel 1996

Why the Caravan were great: Mount Carmel capped its undefeated season with a 17-6 win over Joliet Catholic in the 5A title game, holding the Hilltoppers to 183 yards, all on the ground. After the game, Lenti — still going strong in 2017 with 374 wins and 11 state titles and counting in his 34th season — said: "I told the kids it was (a matchup of) two of the greatest traditions in state football history, and it was an opportunity for them to be remembered as one of the greatest teams at Mount Carmel. This group will rank as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in Mount Carmel history." They outscored their opponents 614-160, including 208-49 in playoffs, and finished No. 6 in USA Today's national rankings. RB Russ Calabrese and Mike Mannott each rushed for more than 1,000 yards.

Why the Celtics were great: They were the middle team of an undefeated three-peat with 1994 (5A) and 1996 (4A) that along with 1997's team won a large-school-record 50 straight games, the most in Illinois since the IHSA playoffs began in 1974. They cruised all season until the final, when they needed two touchdowns in the final three minutes to overcome Sacred Heart-Griffin. They finished No. 9 in USA Today national rankings. Future NFL All-Pro lineman Eric Steinbach played for the 1995-97 champs and set a state record with 26 sacks his final year. Robert Cruz played QB for the 1995 and 1996 undefeated champs.

East St. Louis 1989

Why the Flyers were great: They were led by future Illini All-American LB Dana Howard, QB Rollie Nevilles, RBs Chris Moore and LaGrant Suggs and WR Homer Bush, who would win a World Series as a utility player with the 1998 Yankees. They outscored their playoff opponents 199-70 and blitzed a talented Thornton team for 558 yards in the final to return to glory after falling in the 6A final the previous two years. They finished No. 6 in USA Today's national rankings.

Mount Carmel 1988

Why the Caravan were great: They knocked off three consecutive undefeated teams to take the title, starting with one of the best games in state history against Homewood-Flossmoor in the quarterfinals, when TE Mark Norville's 1-yard TD catch of a tipped pass on the final play in the rain at Gately Stadium allowed the Caravan to advance. Lenti's first champs started a run of four straight state titles and, led by quick RB Nairobi Allen, outscored the opposition 341-79, including 83-33 against their stacked playoff opponents.

Richards 1988

Why the Bulldogs were great: They dominated the state for two seasons with two largely different groups in 1988 and 1989. The 1988 team, led by QB Efrem Haymore, outscored its opponents 520-66 and 200-40 in the playoffs. They trailed only once all season, 7-0 against Stagg in an eventual 42-13 win. The next year's team extended the Bulldogs' win streak to 28 behind QB John Rutkowski. WR/DB John Newton was one of three players to start for both teams. Korhonen retired as the state's all-time coaching wins leader with 315.

Buffalo Grove 1986

Why the Bison were great: After losing to all-time great East St. Louis teams in the semifinals the previous two seasons, the Bison defense took it out on the state's biggest class in 1986. BG allowed only 489 rushing yards all season, an average of 35 per game, behind DT Jon Gustafsson (Illinois), a 6-foot-5, 260-pound monster from Sweden, and LB Jim Wagner (UCLA), a fellow All-Stater. The Mid-Suburban League's first state champion was the only undefeated team in any class in 1986. Other stars included QB Mark Benson (Northwestern), DT Gavin Pearlman (Illinois) and RB Pat Milz, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards.

East St. Louis 1985

Why the Flyers were great: They were named national champs by USA Today and the National Sports News Service, the last team from Illinois to earn that title — a fitting honor for perhaps the state's all-time best team. Their 46-0 rout of Brother Rice in the Class 6A championship concluded a three-year run in which the Flyers went 40-0 with three 6A titles. They won their five playoff games by a combined score of 194-19 and punted a total of 10 times in 14 games. Key players included LB Bryan Cox, QB Kerwin Price, OL Anthony Buckner, RB Marvin Lampkin and WRs Art Sargent and Cortez Robinson. They capped a run of three straight state titles, finishing with national rankings of 2 in 1984 and 4 in 1983.

St. Rita 1978

Why the Mustangs were great: The first Chicago team to win a football state championship outscored its opponents 399-58, including 113-21 in the playoffs. LB Mark Zavagnin played at Notre Dame, and QB Mark Strimel played at Purdue. Ranked No. 1 all year, they beat No. 2 St. Laurence 14-6 in front of 23,000 at Soldier Field. Strimel threw and ran for a TD in the state final.

Joliet Catholic 1978

Why the Hilltoppers were great: It's hard to pick the best of their four straight 4A champions from 1975-78. Gillespie said his first state champs were his best, but the '78 team's defensive dominance gives them the edge here. They did not allow a point throughout the playoffs, winning their four games by a combined 106-0. They didn't allow a point in the first quarter all season while outscoring their opponents 387-37. RB Dave Matichak, QB Mark Morel and future Bears lineman Tom Thayer led the offense, and defensive standouts included DL John Piazza and DBs Paul Carberry and Tim Tyrell. The previous three JCA champs included stars such as QB Mark Parker and RB Rick Thayer (Tom's brother).

Rockford East 1974

Why the E-Rabs were great: The program has qualified for the IHSA playoffs only four times and not since 2001, but this team was one of the best collections of talent the state has seen. Three players — RB Ira Matthews, DE Jerry Holloway and LB Stuart Walker — were selected in the NFL draft, and QB Dean Schlueter, RB Russell Pope and RB Joe Black were stars as well. They capped their undefeated season with a title in the inaugural state playoffs, and they also went undefeated the three seasons before. In the final two of those seasons, East outscored its opponents 526-93.

Wheaton North 1973

Record: 9-0.

Coach: Jim Rexilius.

Why the Falcons were great: The Falcons had many great teams under Rexilius, and stars including QBs Chuck Long and Kent Graham, but this was his most dominant squad. In the year before the IHSA playoffs began, they outscored opponents 369-49, with the offense averaging 6.5 yards per play and the defense allowing 1.9. Their 27-8 opening win over West Chicago was their closest game. Ten players went on to play Division I football. Charlie Martin and Bobby Sullivan each rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and other stars included QB Steve Massman, TE Rick Jacobsen, LBs Jim Fletcher, Steve DeFalco and John Friedery and OLs Keith Burlingame and Bob Graham.

Evanston 1971

Record: 8-0.

Coach: Murney Lazier.

Why the Wildkits were great: Even without superb RB Howard Jones, who missed the season with a broken arm, the Wildkits were unbeatable. Future Bear TE Emery Moorehead helped pick up the slack with RB Kevin Keith. They avenged their only 1970 loss with a 45-24 win against Hinsdale Central in the 1971 opener, and they outscored their remaining seven opponents 289-14. The team averaged 10.7 per rushing attempt, with four backs averaging 100 or more yards per game behind a huge offensive line led by Keith Bruns, Joe Pieper and Gary Stajduhar. Their six Division I players included QB Shawn Lazier, the coach's son.

St. Rita 1971

Record: 13-0.

Coach: Pat Cronin.

Why the Mustangs were great: They were led by two all-time greats, RB Billy Marek and OL Dennis Lick, and two other All-Staters, OL John Rock and DT Joe Norwick. Marek, Lick and Norwick all played at Wisconsin. Marek left as the Badgers' all-time rushing leader, and Lick was a starter for six seasons with the Bears. The Mustangs won Prep Bowl 18-12 over Morgan Park behind 178 yards from Marek, who rushed for 27 TDs as senior and 3,000-plus yards in three years. In a Catholic League playoff game against Loyola, Marek couldn't play, but Sherwin Hunt filled in with 200 yards in a 26-8 win.

Pittsfield 1970

Record: 9-0.

Coach: Donald "Deek" Pollard.

Why the Saukees were great: Taking a team this talented and putting it in 1970s rural western Illinois turned out to be quite unfair. The school with about 500 students won a state-record 64 consecutive games, with seven undefeated seasons in a row from 1966-72. Their 1970 team that didn't allow a point all season earns the right to be called the best of the bunch. They outscored their opponents 341-0 and allowed negative rushing yards for the season. They were packed with Division I talent during the streak, including LB Kevin Lowe (Illinois), LB Ron Ghrist (Missouri), QB Jay Carlton (Colorado State), DE Tom Bunting (Utah), lineman John Ruzich (Michigan State), QB Tom McCartney (Illinois) and DBs Bruce Callender and Charlie Hubbard (both Western Illinois).

Thornton 1965

Record: 9-0.

Coach: Frank Bauman.

Why the Wildcats were great: RB LaMarr Thomas was an All-Stater in football and basketball, helping Thornton win the 1965 mythical football state championship and the 1966 hoops state title in the same school year. He went on to play football at Michigan State. Their other stars included RB Larry Snoddy, QB Butch Mech, FB Mark Callanan, DE Ray Jakubiak, LB Jenkins Davis and linemen Clarence Kennedy, William Murphy, Rick Jones and Joe Banasiak. Their closest wins were 27-7 over Thornridge and Joliet.

St. Rita 1963

Record: 9-0.

Coach: Ed Buckley.

Why the Mustangs were great: The small but sturdy team was coached by Buckley, a former Marine and three-sport star at Harvard. They beat Vocational 42-7 in the Prep Bowl behind 231 yards and four TDs from RB John Byrne in front of 81,270 fans at Soldier Field, capping a season in which they outscored opponents 348-60. Division I players included Byrne (Indiana), OL Larry Smith (Michigan State), OL Joe Kosiak (Nebraska, Drake) and All-State QB Jim Klutcharch (Purdue), and assistant George Perles was the head coach at Michigan State from 1983-94. Named national champion by the National Sports News Service.

Fenwick 1962

Record: 10-0.

Coach: John Jardine.

Why the Friars were great: They outscored opponents 317-32, including a 40-0 Prep Bowl win over Schurz that was highlighted by All-America RB Jim DiLullo's 224 yards and five TDs on 12 carries in front of 91,328 fans at Soldier Field. In their previous Prep Bowl playoff games they defeated St. Rita 39-6 and Leo 34-6. Their numerous Division I players included 250-pound OL Jim Gatziolis, who played at Wisconsin and Nebraska. Safety John Gorman had an astounding-for-the-time 11 interceptions. The team averaged 312 rushing yards per game behind DiLullo, Dan Dinello and Tim Wengierski. Jardine went 51-6 in five years at Fenwick and later was the head coach at Wisconsin from 1970-77.

Bloom 1957

Record: 9-0.

Coach: Cecil Sarff.

Why the Trojans were great: They were led by two of the greatest athletes in Illinois history: RB Leroy Jackson and end Homer Thurman. Jackson won the state title in the 100-yard dash three years in a row and was selected 11th overall out of Western Illinois by the Redskins in the 1962 NFL draft. Thurman was an All-Stater in football, basketball and track. They outscored their opponents 265-128.

Mount Carmel 1950

Record: 11-0.

Coach: Terry Brennan.

Why the Caravan were great: They were led by future Notre Dame coach Brennan and QB Tom Carey, a future Caravan coach. RB Tim McHugh, an All-American, rushed for 1,198 yards and 18 TDs. They won the Catholic League title with a 51-14 win against DePaul and the Prep Bowl 45-20 over Lane to complete a season in which they outscored their opponents 464-121. McHugh, Carey and FB Dan Shannon were named All-Americans, and OL Ted Cachey would be a captain at Michigan. They also won the Prep Bowl in 1951 and 1952.

Leo 1941

Record: 11-0.

Coach: Whitey Cronin.

Why the Lions were great: Five-foot-six QB Babe Baranowski (Illinois, Georgetown) was described as the "legend of his day." RBs Bob Hanlon and Robert Kelly went on to play for Notre Dame's 1943 national champions. They beat Tilden 46-13 in front of 95,000 fans at Soldier Field to win the Prep Bowl on Nov. 29, 1941, eight days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were named national champion by the National Sports News Service.

Austin 1937

Record: 10-0.

Coach: William Heiland.

Why the Tigers were great: Before TV, high school football drew huge crowds. The 1937 city championship is legendary for packing an estimated 120,000 — about 45,000 over capacity — into Soldier Field to see Austin defeat Leo 26-0 on Nov. 28. The next day, 4,188 watched the Bears play the Cleveland Rams at Wrigley Field. Bill DeCorrevont was the team's star, scoring 35 touchdowns in 10 games. The future Northwestern star, who would share a backfield with Otto Graham for the Wildcats, scored nine TDs on 10 touches in a 93-0 rout of McKinley. The team was named national champion by the National Sports News Service.

Oak Park 1912

Record: 10-0.

Coach: Bob Zuppke.

Why the Huskies were great: Coached by Zuppke, who went on to coach Illinois, in 1910-12 and then in 1913 by Glenn Thistlewaite, who later coached at Northwestern and Wisconsin, Oak Park won four mythical national titles in 1910-13 while playing in Boston, Toledo and Portland, Ore., going undefeated in 1911-12. QB Bart Macomber was a future All-American for Zuppke at Illinois. The 1911 team outscored its opponents 331-12 with eight shutouts in 10 games. The 1912 team put up a point differential of 431-17, again with eight shutouts. They defeated Englewood 111-0 in 1911 and Evanston 101-0 in 1912.